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5 hours ago
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Don't throw Cal Raleigh a hittable first pitch. It might end up in the seats.
In addition to everything else Raleigh is doing well in this historic season for the Seattle Mariners catcher, he's also the most dangerous first-pitch hitter in the major leagues.
After Raleigh homered on the first pitch he saw Friday at Wrigley Field in the top of the first inning, he's got 11 first-pitch homers. Those also include a first-pitch grand slam earlier in the week.
First-pitch OPS stats are less forthcoming. Inside Edge last shared them on social media on June 9, when Raleigh was second to Aaron Judge. Except since then, Judge has been cold and Raleigh has been hot. Considering multiple first-pitch homers just this week, Raleigh has likely passed Judge for first place on that list.
There's just so much to appreciate about Raleigh.
He destroys first pitches. He hits homers from both sides of the plate. He's an elite framer. He even has nine stolen bases.
MORE: Cal Raleigh breaks Johnny Bench's 55-year MLB record in catcher history
Mariners fans know just how special he has been, and the rest of the baseball world is slowly catching up, too. Watching the Cubs' television broadcast on Friday was a live look at seeing how announcers from another team don't take long to marvel at Raleigh's brilliance.
There's always the caveat here, that maybe too much catching will take a toll and lead to a decline in Raleigh's production in the second half of the season.
But even if he slows down a tad, he still might be tracking for the greatest catcher season in baseball history.
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